Brothers Mike and Tim Richardson of Norwich are avid anglers who rank the waters at Greeneville Dam among their favorite fishing spots in the region.

But on Saturday, the Richardsons turned out to the scenic location with a different target in mind.

“If you’re not cleaning up after yourself, you’re really not much of a fisherman at all. I think it’s important in order to keep your name up,” Mike Richardson said while holding a large garbage bag filled with detritus he’d spent the past hour collecting.

For the second time in three weeks, area fishermen volunteered their time to help beautify conditions at some of the city’s most popular outdoor destinations. The work started along the Thames River at Howard T. Brown Memorial Park.

“As times goes by, we’re going to expand our circle,” said Gerald Martin, a member of Norwich’s Harbor Management Commission, who also took part in Saturday’s Greeneville excursion. He spearheaded the Thames River cleanup, which netted “two huge garbage bags full of stuff,” along with bulkier items, including one full-length snow ski.

The Harbor Management Commission in recent weeks has placed an emphasis on maintaining the grounds that are used most often by people for fishing.

“What we’re trying to do is keep it clean to set the standard for what it should be year round,” Martin said.

As the commission works on ways to lure more people into Norwich for the year-round fishing it offers, ensuring the grounds are as pristine as possible is essential for boosting tourism around the industry, commission members says

So far, attendance at both cleanups has been light — only five people have turned out for each — but Martin said that’s enough of a crew to make a difference.

“Four or five people at a time is plenty,” Martin said. “We can fan out and hit many different areas.”

In addition to glass bottles, discarded fishing gear and large pieces of paper strewn around the dam, some of the items that were picked up were far less eco-friendly.

Mike Richardson pulled an extension cord out of the brush, and also discovered large pieces of porcelain on a small mound of earth.

He supports the commission’s desire to keep the city’s fishing spots free of litter.

“I don’t want to bring my friends or my niece to a dumpy place,” he said.

Tim Richardson said the brothers grew up in Sprague fishing in secluded areas and are careful to pick up after themselves wherever they go.

“We fish reservoirs and we bring trash bags in with us just to bring stuff out on our own,” he said, noting that if bothers him that other anglers aren’t as conscientious.

Page 2 of 2 - “I hate to see that,” he said of the litter, “because that’s why so many areas have been closed off to fisherman.”